Area college football notes: Riverside grad Bilal steps up in LEC backfield

By Kevin Kleps

Friday, October 12, 2012

Anthony Bilal started his first season at Lake Erie as a cornerback.

As the Storm get set to play their seventh game, the Riverside graduate is their leading rusher, and he's accounted for two of the top three games on the ground in program history.

Bilal was ineligible for LEC's season-opening loss at Gannon.

In the last five games, he's rushed for 608 yards on 87 carries, an average of 7.0 yards per attempt, and scored seven touchdowns.

His 23-carry, 192-yard effort in last week's 38-35 win at Notre Dame College -- LEC's first victory of the season -- was the second-best in program history.

On Sept. 15 at Wayne State, Bilal ran for 186 yards and two TDs on 27 carries -- the third-best rushing game in LEC history. Only Kameron Alexander -- who ran for 214 yards against Tiffin on Nov. 16, 2010 -- has had a better day on the ground than Bilal since Lake Erie's 2008 gridiron debut.

"I didn't expect to play this early," Bilal said. "At the beginning of camp, I was on defense at corner. They moved me to running back and I was third string, but I performed well and worked my way up."

The Storm (1-5, 1-4 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) will play Malone (1-4 GLIAC) on Saturday at 1 p.m. The crowd at Jack Britt Memorial Stadium for homecoming and alumni weekend might want to keep their eyes on Lake Erie's true freshmen at running back.

The combination of Bilal and Toledo product Brandon Phenix has racked up 964 yards rushing, averaged 6.1 yards per carry and has 10 TDs on the ground.

Phenix rushed for 130 yards in the season opener, and Bilal has had at least 99 rushing yards in four of the last five contests.

Neither is an imposing sight -- Bilal is 5-foot-7, 170 pounds, and Phenix is 5-10, 170. But both are fast, and they have benefited from an offensive line Coach Mark McNellie has credited for much of the success of the running game.

"It's been great," Bilal said of his backfield pairing with Phenix. "He's one of my best friends on the team. We talk to each other all the time on the field. We tell each other, 'Do work.' I block for him, and he blocks for me.

"It's always a rivalry, but if he does good, I'm there for him 100 percent, and he's there for me. If I score, he's the first one to congratulate me when I come off the field."

The friendly rivalry has helped LEC average 195 yards per game on the ground.

"The offensive line has been doing a great job all season," Bilal said. "They are a great group of guys to be around and learn from. They are the main reason for Brandon and my success this season, and they deserve just as much credit as we do."

Nicely out with injury

Lake Erie senior quarterback Patrick Nicely (South) will miss Saturday's game against Malone because of a knee injury he suffered on his 13-yard game-winning TD run against Notre Dame College last week.

The Storm say there is no timetable for the Akron transfer's return.

Junior Brendan Gallagher, who has attempted two passes this season, will make his second career start. He started Lake Erie's 2011 opener -- a 13-10 win over Gannon. The Aurora product completed 20 of 28 passes for 199 yards, with one TD and one interception, against the Golden Knights.

Gallagher enters the lineup as the Storm close their season with a five-game stretch in which they play four teams with losing records in the GLIAC -- Malone, Walsh (2-4, 1-4), Ohio Dominican (3-3, 2-3) and Tiffin (1-5, 0-5). LEC will also play host to Findlay (4-1 GLIAC) on Oct. 20.

Quick slants

-- Kenyon senior running back Brett Williams (West Geauga) ranks second in the North Coast Athletic Conference in rushing yards per game at 110.6. His five rushing TDs also rank second.

-- In the Ohio Athletic Conference, John Carroll receiver Lane Robilotto (Riverside) leads in receiving yards per game at 103.0.

-- Vanderbilt kicker Carey Spear (Mayfield) is 9-of-11 on field-goal attempts this season, with his two misses coming from 46 and 51 yards.

-- Saturday in OAC action, Mount Union hosts Capital at 1:30 p.m., John Carroll travels to Muskingum for a 1:30 start and Baldwin-Wallace hosts Wilmington at 2. Also on tap: Notre Dame College plays at Tiffin at 1:30 and Case Western Reserve plays at Oberlin at 1.